ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — One of the Broncos' defensive draft picks has signed his rookie deal.
Safety JL Skinner has officially signed his four-year rookie contract, the team announced Friday.
The Broncos selected Skinner in the sixth round with the 183rd-overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
A first-team All-Mountain West selection in 2022, Skinner recorded 65 tackles, eight passes defensed and four interceptions in his final season at Boise State. Skinner was projected by some analysts to be drafted in the third or fourth round, but he fell to the Broncos as he recovers from a pectoral injury.
"We liked him throughout the process," General Manager George Paton said after the draft. "The first thing you see is the size. He's almost 6-[foot]-4. Then the athletic ability for that size. We thought was unique. The short-area quickness, the range and you see the ball skills on tape. The thing that really sticks out is his physicality and playing downhill the run game. You see that all over the tape. He's a fun watch. [Head Coach] Sean [Payton] and I have watched a lot of tape on him, and he's a fun watch. I think the injury did impact where he was drafted. We felt very fortunate to get him where we did."
Skinner is the second member of the Broncos' five-player draft class to sign his rookie deal.
The sixth-round pick joins Justin Simmons, Caden Sterns, P.J. Locke and Delarrin Turner-Yell at safety on the Broncos' roster.
